Arcadia, Parnon Oil Traders Accused of Market Manipulation

By John Kell

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission filed civil charges against three firms and two traders, alleging they manipulated crude-oil prices, yielding over $50 million in unlawful profits.

The firms charged were Parnon Energy Inc. of California, Arcadia Petroleum Ltd. of the United Kingdom, Arcadia Energy SA of Switzerland. The individuals were James T. Dyer of Australia and Nicholas J. Wildgoose of California.

The CFTC accused them of driving the price of WTI crude up and down to rack up profits between January and April 2008.

The commission described a scheme that claims Parnon and Arcadia, assisted by Dyer and Wildgoose, bought physical oil (what traders call “wet barrels”) they did not need.

According to the regulator, these outfits would withhold the crude from the market, driving up prices at Cushing, Okla. Cushing is a key pipeline hub and the price point for all light, sweet crude futures — the “paper barrels”

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